Stepford Republican

That's how some are referring to Jean Schmidt, who is running for office in the Ohio 2nd congressional district. I've discussed the Democratic candidate, Paul Hackett, and the smear campaign the GOP tried running against him. Now let's take a closer look at Ms. Schmidt.

Schmidt appeared on MSNBC's Hardball last night. Crooks and Liars has the video. Based on this interview and other reports [here and here], it is quite clear that Jean Schmidt, if elected, would be a mere puppet for the Bush administration. She repeats the RNC talking points exactly as prepared. It's also obvious she's never met a cliche she didn't like:

"The best defense is a good offense," is what she'd tell President Bush about the war.

"I support the president in his mission to make sure the enemies of freedom stay on their shores and not on ours." (Wonder if "their shores" includes London and Madrid?)

"We have to keep our eye on the ball or the ball will come back to harm us."

"The seeds of democracy have been planted. Democracy is on the march."

"We must stay the course."

I especially like her explanation of the missing Weapons of Mass Destruction. Schmidt says we thought there were WMD's in Iraq because "a thug" told us they were there. The thug in question being Saddam Hussein, who also prevented weapons inspectors from ever looking for, finding and destroying said weapons. Damn the facts! Full talking points ahead!

When asked about the war in Iraq Schmidt says she would tell Bush and Rumsfeld to listen to the "guys on the ground." Of course, Hackett's views on the war are not valid even though he was one of those guys on the ground. Schmidt seems to think that because Hackett served in the military he abandoned his community, which isn't really all that concerned about Iraq.

"Everything’s local. Of course, it’s more important here. The issues that the people have are more important to those individuals than anything outside of that region."

Of course, Schmidt was quick to point out that she'd just attended a memorial service for a soldier killed in Iraq. Makes you think she went to the funeral, right? Nope. She attended an event at the "track" where a plaque was dedicated to the solider by the Owensville fire department. Big difference.

Schmidt is having some problems with her campaign. The Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) has launched a radio campaign urging Republicans, conservatives and advocates of limited government to stay home on Tuesday. They call Schmidt a liar regarding her advocacy of lowering taxes and limiting government and caution voters not to vote for Jean Schmidt.

Schmidt says she is confident her conservative base will carry the election for her. But that base may not be happy with her campaign manager, who seems to enjoy whipping people. With a single-tail whip. In his basement. Really.

America can do better than George W. Bush and Stepford Republican Jean Schmidt.